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Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy Overview

CIFAR is leading the Government of Canada’s $125 million Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, working in partnership with three newly established AI institutes – the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII) in Edmonton, the Vector Institute in Toronto and MILA in Montreal. Announced in the 2017 federal budget, the Strategy has four major goals:

To increase the number of outstanding artificial intelligence researchers and skilled graduates in Canada.

To establish interconnected nodes of scientific excellence in Canada’s three major centres for artificial intelligence in Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.

To develop global thought leadership on the economic, ethical, policy and legal implications of advances in artificial intelligence.

Over the next five years, CIFAR will collaborate with the Canadian research community to:

enhance Canada’s international profile in AI research and training;

increase the productivity in AI academic research and enhanced capacity to generate world-class research and innovation;

increase collaboration across geographic areas of excellence in AI research and strengthen relationships with receptors of innovation;

attract and retain outstanding AI talent in Canadian universities and industry;

and translate AI research discoveries in the private and public sectors leading to socio-economic benefits for Canada.

Programs

AI Institutes. The strategy will fund three AI institutes in Canada’s three major centres for deep learning and reinforcement learning research – in Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto. These three AI Institutes will provide a critical mass of research and innovation excellence, and will work with researchers, industry and other stakeholders across Canada.

Canada CIFAR Chairs in AI Program. Academic chairs, associated with a Canadian organization, will be funded at one of the three AI Institutes. As international competition for deep learning and reinforcement learning researchers intensifies, funding for the chairs will help Canada retain and recruit top academic researchers, and allow them the freedom to carry out research, train students, and interact with industry. The Canada CIFAR Chairs in AI Program will support the recruitment and training of young researchers, including both graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. It will include funding for graduate students who will work with the Canada CIFAR Chairs in AI, as well as training for students at the three AI Institutes.

AI & Society Program. Advances in AI will have profound implications for the economy, government and society. The strategy will fund policy-relevant working groups to examine these implications, publish their findings and inform the public and policy-makers.

National AI Program. The Strategy includes a program of national activities that will build on CIFAR’s success with summer and winter schools in AI, and support activities that are national and collaborative in scope such as an annual meeting of Canada CIFAR Chairs in AI, and aim to ensure that Canada is well positioned for sustained global leadership in AI research and innovation.